Motor City Brewing Works, Detroit's oldest operating microbrewery, has closed its Avenue of Fashion taproom, citing "staffing challenges and increased workloads for existing employees."
Sunday was its last day of business at 19350 Livernois, according to a Facebook post Tuesday. It had opened in July 2021, becoming Motor City Brewing Works' second location. Recirc Pump
John Linardos, founder and CEO/president of Motor City Brewing, told the Free Press in 2021 that the Livernois taproom had been in the works since 2018, noting the area as a walkable community amid a business district and its surrounding neighborhoods of Sherwood Forest, Palmer Woods, Green Acres and University District.
“It was a long time coming, and in the thick of COVID, and the whole playing field changed a lot,” Linardos said by phone Wednesday. “The dynamics there … I love that neighborhood. It’s not reflective of any of the dynamics and is a strategic decision we had to make.”
Motor City Brewing Works opened its first location in 1994, on Canfield in Midtown Detroit. That location remains open.
Closing the Livernois location, Linardos said, was based on not having a big enough team to operate the way it wanted to.
“We wanted to bring special events that reflect the culture and the neighborhood,” he said. “It made sense to regroup and find some additional help in a different structure for that location.”
The Livernois taproom building, which Linardos owns, dates back to 1890 and was once the home of the Hunter House Supper Club.
“It will still have another life, just different than what we anticipated,” Linardos said. “It won’t be Motor City, but something in harmony with our ethos and what we do,” Linardos said. “I’m pretty excited about what’s coming down the pike.”
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